The I ♥ Cebu blog by Peanut Browas

​Cebu is the home to the best pig ever. Famed chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain can attest to this after his visit to the Queen City of the South way back in 2008. He made the bold proclamation in an episode of “No Reservations” aired in February 2009 after visiting a number of places around the world to find the best pig ever.

Anthony Bourdain – image source: Zubuchon Facebook page

This fact is quite evident on the number of restaurants in Cebu and other places in the country offering the Cebu lechon on their menu. But, Cebuanos are not resting on their laurels. They allowed their creative juices to run free, which eventually led to the creation of the boneless lechon.

The boneless lechon is an innovative method of cooking the lechon. It essentially requires the deboning of the belly of a pig before special ingredients and spices are added. After this, it is cooked in the same way a typical lechon is cooked, over an open-charcoal fire. Since the bones are removed from the pig before it is cooked, customers would get all the meat they can eat.

Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly is the brainchild of Mr. Marlon Gochan who conceptualized the product way back in August 2011. He perfected the method of deboning the lechon belly before spicing it up with ingredients and slow-roasting it over open-charcoal fire. The cooking method is the same way the traditional lechon is cooked. Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly is offered in more than thirty locations around the country as well as one location in Vancouver, Canada.

They have two variants of their boneless lechon, the original regular variant and the spicy variant. The price of their boneless lechon starts at PHP 600 per kilo in the Visayas area and PHP 760 per kilo in Metro Manila. Aside from the boneless lechon, Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly also offers Lechips, Lechon Dugo-Dugo, Lechon Rolls, and Beef Stew. You can check out the website and Facebook Page of Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly for more information.

Zubuchon is another well-known restaurant offering one of the best boneless lechon in Cebu. The man behind Zubuchon is Joel Binamira, who is also the writer of the popular blog Market Manila. In October 2008, Joel played host to Anthony Bourdain and showed the author and TV host how he cooked lechon. The lechon cooked by Joel was proclaimed by Bourdain as the best pig ever. The name Zubuchon is a combination of the word Zubu, which is the name of Cebu as shown on old Portuguese and Spanish maps, and Chon for Lechon.

Zubuchon – image source: Zubuchon Facebook page

Zubuchon prides itself of getting their pigs from backyard sellers who feed their pigs with 100 percent organic feeds. The restaurant also stuffs their pigs with over a dozen herbs and spices before it is roasted over charcoal. Zubuchon has seven branches in Metro Cebu. The price of their boneless lechon starts at PHP 330 for a platter good for 3 to 4 persons. They also offer boneless Zubuchon meals at PHP 180. In addition to the boneless lechon, Zubuchon also offers Paksiw na Zubuchon, Pritchon, Roasted Chicken, Ensaladang Talong, and Sizzling Bangus, among others. You can check out the website and Facebook Page of Zubuchon for more information.

Tatang’s Extra Crispy Boneless Lechon was established in 2012 by Lorenz Florendo. The name Tatang’s came from the name of the grandfather of Lorenz who wanted a classic and Pinoy name for the restaurant he wanted to open. The recipe for the boneless lechon of Lorenz was not created overnight. In fact, it took his family a couple of months to make the perfect recipe to produce a boneless lechon with an extra crispy skin while ensuring the juiciness of the meat itself.

Tatang’s Extra Crispy Boneless Lechon was recognized in 2013 as the best boneless lechon for the year in the first edition of the Best of Cebu of Sun.Star Weekend. The boneless lechon of Tatang’s is available at its main outlet along Wilson St., Cebu City. It is also offered in at least five locations in Metro Manila. The price of the regular variant of the boneless lechon of Tatang’s is at PHP 560 per kilo while the spicy variant is priced at PHP 580 per kilo. Aside from the boneless lechon, they also offer Lechon Wraps and Lechon Flakes, among others. You can check out the Facebook Page of Tatang’s Extra Crispy Boneless Lechon for more information.

The boneless lechon is proof of the creativity of the Cebuanos who are constantly innovating the dishes they offer to their discriminating customers. The boneless lechon of Cebu has also cemented the status of the Queen City of the South as the cradle of the lechon industry in the archipelago, if not the world.